Good Afternoon, Flowers!
It's been another cold day in my neighborhood. . .no snow although the lake has ice on it again. Our assistant principal announced that he is moving on to be a principal in another school district. He is so good at his job but I'm sure the stress is getting to him; he's in charge of all the discipline problems. He was hired with the idea the current principal would be leaving within 5 years and that hasn't happened. Our superintendent has also resigned and if the principal would happen to fall into another position, we could have some major changes going on next year.

"Gma" -- I don't dream very often but do remember some of the ones I'd rather forget! I hope you have pleasant dreams tonight! Hormones are strange beings, that's for sure! I loved the time I was taking HRT but guess all good things must come to an end. I've been "off" for two years now and still get the hot flashes once in awhile. DH says I need some happy pills every once in awhile! The Irish stew was good! Neither one of us had ever had it before; they also had free green beer which didn't appeal to me at all. They served rolls and a relish tray along with the stew and then had a dessert table with lots of yummy choices. The music was really good; the brogue was pretty thick so it was hard to understand some of what the band leader was saying.

DH is at church for practice and left a note that he'd eaten a sandwich before he left at 4:30 so guess I'm on my own for supper. Hmmm . . . something east like a bowl of popcorn, I think.

Jean: Popcorn for dinner? I would probably get a tummyache from that one. I also have a lot of trouble with the kernels getting stuck in my throat and me not being able to dislodge them and it causing a sore throat infection so I rarely eat popcorn.

I am shampooing downstairs carpets this morning. Oh what fun! The dog dragged something in on his paws and it messed up the carpet and even my stain lifter couldn't get it out so...The carpets are old and awful anyway so I try to keep them up to snuff as much as I can. No new floors until next year!
I also have treadmill work today so I probably will be pooped when Jack gets home tonight.

Poor Jack had to drive way out and around to work this morning. Some semi had an accident on I-55 right at his exit. Dumped a whole load of bricks. Thank goodness Jack watches the morning news while eating breakfast. There is 2 ways to get to his plant, off the interstate and drive way back in, or through the state park. Going that way takes longer and is way out of the way besides being dangerous because it is all curves and the trees are overgrown and hang so it is pitch black even in the day time. You literally can turn onto the road into the park in bright sunshine and two minutes later have to turn your lights on to see. Right after Jack went to work there, a guy from his plant was killed in the afternoon going home when someone missed a curve going too fast and hit him head on. Makes me real nervous. Some of the curves are so sharp it is like making a right hand turn onto a street. You have to practically stop. He had to be at work at 7 and left here at 5 after so I am sure he is safe and sound by now.

I have a feeling we already may have new neighbors. I thought I heard the sound of a washer this morning, but it may have been something else. I know someone was over there yesterday afternoon and evening.

Looks like there is no Frankie Valli in my future. He won't be there when we are going. I called the box office directly yesterday. That's ok, we will just go to Mystere, which is what our plans were in the first place. Two shows is our budget as together they cost us almost $400. Can you believe that top tickets for the Manilow show are $250 apiece? Celine Dion starts at $88 and goes to $225 apiece and Gladys Knight is $55 and $65 apiece. I don't like them that much! In fact, I don't like anyone that much. Our magic show tickets are $75 apiece and the Cirque de Soleil show, Mystere are $95 apiece and those are for the cheapest of the Cirque de Soleil shows. I think the "O" show start at $94 to $150 or something. The thing is, you have to be careful about the shows if you don't know someone who has been. For example, there was an interactive show called I think, Marriage can be murder II. The cost was $50 apiece for a dinner show. I thought, wow that could be fun helping to solve a murder like those weekend hotel things they have. I looked it up further and found out the restaurant is some little hole in the wall called the Egg and I that serves all kind of egg dishes. I mean they have pictures of the restaurant and it looks like some kind of mom and pop thing. You know, with the cash register sitting on one of those glass cases filled with gum and stuff and the side dishes served in those little plastic cups. UH-UH not for $50 apiece, I don't think so! I also found out, the restaurant owner writes the script and she and her husband act in it! Now if it had been half that totally like $25 for a couple, then maybe. I thought about going to see the Neil Diamond impersonater Jay White because I heard he is pretty good and he even looks like Neil a little, but again the tickets are $50 and $60 apiece to go see someone pretend to be somebody else! I mean, I went to Tunica and saw Wayne Newton IN PERSON, 4th row and it only cost me about that much.

Well, enough talk about my vacation stuff. I know it bores you to death. We only have 5 months and Jack has it figured to the day! We leave to go and see our ds and ddil a week from Thur and our dd and dgs are riding up with us and her hubby comes up the next day so that will be fun. We haven't been together in a long time. Hopefully, my son will keep his mouth shut about the wedding thing and let it all go so there are no arguments etc. My dd, who is usually the start of stuff like that, is more than willing to just let it go. After all, almost a year has past and no one can go back so it is about time to just let things go I think. It is supposed to snow, UGH and none of us has winter coats except Jack. He kept his when we moved down here. No one has boots either though I have these little rubber loafer looking things I can take. Kelly wants us to take our swimsuits so we can get into their hot tub. She thinks sitting in a hot tub in the snow is fun! I am not so sure about that.....

Good Afternoon, Flowers!
I am home early because of conferences; I have lots I could be doing but thought I'd check in with you all first! The thermometer says it is 44 degrees outside but it is chilly. The sun is shining although it is windy.

"Gma" -- I like hearing about your vacation plans! I hope to get to Vegas sometime but didn't realize show tickets were so expensive. We've been to Branson and I'd like to go back there also. I don't remember that the shows were terribly out of line but it's been a few years too. The prices have probably gone up like everything else has. Gas is over $2 here so we may not be going too far away any how. We eat alot of popcorn! We both grew up in families where popcorn and milk were Sunday night supper. Now with microwave popcorn, I sometimes have it for lunch at school just because it is something different and quick. I don't think I would like Jack's alternate route to work as it sounds much too dangerous!

Not much else is newsy from Iowa. I need to do some laundry and make a grocery list for card club Monday night. It is my turn to host so I'd like to have my food lined up before the weekend sets in.

I am up early again trying to get things done. Thank goodness our condo "issue" is solved. If you remember a few months ago, the next door neighbor's washer was leaking into my bathroom underneath the baseboards. A week ago, it started again, same place. I did what I did before, we checked ALL of our pipes, etc and nothing. I went over there and she said it couldn't be them, she was moving and her washer was gone. I assumed they had not drained the hoses and that is what it was. It didn't quit though, she moved and I had no way to contact anyone. Jack was going to turn our water off for several hours to make sure it wasn't ours but yesterday I went out to get the mail and the painters were over there so I talked to him. Luckily, he was the contractor that remodeled the condo when they had the fire. He said it wasn't on their side, everything was dry, but he went to show me, said wait a minute, it is our side. Those stupid idiots left the cold water hose and the reason we figure is they couldn't get it off, used a hammer to try and get it to release and bent the cold water connection in half so it was crimped! VOILA! Thank goodness because I was doing 4 loads of towels a day and was ready to get a plumber in here.

Not much else going on here either. It is really chilly here and it is going to rain all week but at least it isn't snow. I am hoping it warms up next week up north so we don't have to deal with snow and real cold stuff.

Good Afternoon, Flowers!
It's a cloudy afternoon and kind of chilly outside. Still no snow nor rain and we really could use some rain to wash the dirt away.

We got a new student a couple of weeks ago and he is driving me nuts! He's in our math class and won't do squat unless someone (me!) stands over him and walks him through each step. He's not stupid -- should be on meds for ADHD but he's not. In study hall he'll ask really dumb questions and then give the "Dennis the Menace" smile because he knows that I know he knows the answer in the first place. I'd really like to smack him to get his attention!

"Gma" -- I'm glad you finally found the where the water was coming from and now have the problem solved. When do you leave for Indiana? I tried to talk DH into going to AZ over our break but as usual, he/we didn't make a decision so guess we will be staying home. Since I am hosting card club Monday night and the kids are coming for Easter, guess I will spend the week clearing out bedrooms so we can paint. . .famous last words!

I need to get supper in the oven . . . fish and baked potatoes so far, and probably a lettuce salad.

Jean: We are leaving to go to Indiana a week from today. I guess Jack has a 2 day seminar on PLC's to go to Tue and Wed so he is at the plant next week only on Mon so he is jazzed about that. He told me yesterday that rumor is that part of the people laid off (about 20) are going to be working out at the plant. I said doing what and he said cleaning up and stuff I guess, I don't know. Well, come to find out, the treatment plants are the ONLY thing that makes money and the city employees out there are paid from a federal fund and net profit from that and not from the city exactly so that is why no one where he worked got laid off and why they are putting them all out there. They are trash collecters without any training so who knows what they will have them doing. I guess doing what they do in a norm, the smell etc shouldn't bother them!

We watched such a cute children's movie last night, Home on the Range. I think your older grandkids (over 4) would love it. It is pretty funny and adults will get the jokes in it kids may not. It is a cartoon and Roseanne plays a cow, is that type casting or what????? Most of the voices are not famous names, but well known in voiceover because you recognize their voice. They have a yodeling cattle rustler and whoever does the yodeling is the best I have ever heard. Randy Quaid does the voice of the rustler but I doubt seriously he does the yodeling, but who knows?

We are having roast, carrots, mashed pot, rolls and I baked those break apart choc chip cookies for dessert last night. I am (keep your fingers crossed) doing really well and had enough pts for 2-3 but only ate one then ate a cube of lowfat cheese as a snack later instead with lowfat crackers. I just hope I can keep the ball rolling! I think I told you I made and saved a meal list and exercise list I can fill in each day to help me stay on track. I am really going to try hard to stay within my limits in Indiana if possible. We usually eat out a LOT!

Good Evening, Flowers!
I should be picking up the disaster area downstairs but will do that while I watch the news at 10:00. I sat down to watch my soap and it had taped a basketball tournament so I took a nap instead. We just happened to catch Survivor last night so now I have to rewind the tape because it recorded basketball again tonight. I didn't think ahead to get the VCR turned on so it wouldn't record.

The wind is howling tonight and it's 19 degrees wind chill -- brrrr! I kind of wanted to go see the kids and grandkids tomorrow since we have no school. The weather is supposed to be rain turning to snow so will wait and see what develops there. I'm ready for sunshine and warmer days!

"Gma" -- Ian is only 2 so is more into the Wiggles and Rolie Polie Olie yet. He does stop and watch commercials that have catchy tunes, if his dad doesn't channel surf through them. Congrats for being back in the losing mode! Your supper sounds yummy!

I need to make a list of what I want to clean before card club on Monday night. Also need to dig out recipes and make a grocery list. Too much to do and never enough time is the story of my life. Of course if I didn't wait until the last minute I wouldn't always be in the time crunch. LOL

Jean: We are on a warming upswing and it is supposed to be in mid 60's today. If it doesn't rain, we may cook out again tomorrow. Except for the nasty neighbors next door and their bratty kids, we love eating on the deck when it is nice. We let Fortune out to run around and leave the door open so the cat can watch out the storm door at us. You know, Thomas used to love the Wiggles. I remember when we took he and his mom to Tx to visit relatives and that was on the vcr all the time at the hotel. I bought him the usual Easter junk candy then bought him a nice big floor puzzle of an aquarium as he loves fish and some books. Have you heard of the "Captain Underpants" books? They are for older kids, but he is so smart, I thought he might get a kick out of listening to them. I bought one called, "Captain Underpants and the Perilous Plot of Professor Poopypants." I also bought him this little Captain Underpants doll that is so cute. I bought him a Maizy Easter sticker book, which is more Ian's age group, but stickers are stickers and he can make a mess in the car riding home from Indiana! Afterall, it's their car not mine.....I also bought him a book that Jaime Lee Curtis wrote called "It's Hard to be Five; Learning how to Work my Control Panel" I thought he might get a kick out of. I heard her books are great.

I am still doing well on the ole program. I have bypassed the choc chip cookies every night even had sugar free pudding last night instead of cookies with Thomas and Kelly. We had to go get them as her car battery was dead and he insisted they come for dinner, which was fine by me as I had all that food. We had to watch the just released Spongebob movie and of course play one game of Kerplunk before he went home. Little stinker, pulled out a stick and got two marbles in his bin, leaned over to his granddad, who was playing with us and said, "Let's sneak all our marbles into Nonny's box so the men will win."

Well, I am going to check the bank account online (with all this online thievery I am a hawk!) and then hunt around and fix dh some breakfast this morning before he goes to work.

Have a great weekend. I may not get back in here as we have scads to try and get done this weekend. We shall see!

Good Evening, Flowers!
We left this morning to babysit for Ian. It ended up that we met his mom and dad for lunch at the mall, then went to Beth's house to play with Maddy for awhile. Back to Ian's house for a nap that didn't happen. There is a pizza place where you can order your pizza and then bake it at home so we all ended up at Ian's house for a pizza supper. The weather dropped 15 degrees during the afternoon and then the rain turned to snow. We drove home in a ground blizzard which is not fun. There's not alot of snow but it blows so hard that you can't see and it covers the highway so you can't see the center or the edges in some places.

"Gma" -- The movies sound cute -- I'll have to see if I can find them. We watched Rolie Polie Olie on the VCR this afternoon. A little of that goes a long way!

Jean: YIKES, there is nothing worse than blowing snow except black ice when you are driving. I can't say I miss it because I don't. I fell more times that I can count with the snow and all after I messed up my knee in 1998. It wouldn't take much for me to slip. One time, I slipped right next to my car getting ready to go to work. We lived in an apartment and the car was parked in the parking lot. It was like 6 in the morning and I fell because my knee popped out. Here I was lying on the cold wet street, my bad leg wedged underneath the bottom of the car because of my boot and my knee out of joint so I couldn't move it and my dh several yards away in the apartment. I yelled for him like I have never yelled in my life and God was with me because somehow he heard me. I know that I am probably sooner or later going to have arthroscopic surgery to repair the tear, but I can't see having it done until I lose weight so that the strain is not as great. I mean, it may re-injure itself considering my weight, then where would I be as I am not sure the insurance company would want to pay $$$$$ to have it fixed again and I could understand that. The last bad fall I had because my knee went out was last summer when I went from the dining room carpet to the laundry room linoleum, the floor had some water and I had a head full of red hair color. I slipped, popped my knee out fell hard, hit my head on the carpet, ruining a part of it with red hair dye we could never get out. I laid there talking to myself about what I was going to do as I was nude. I had come down to wash the stuff out and then was going to take a shower. I mean it is comical now thinking about this old fat woman, on the floor, head full of hair dye stark naked, but it wasn'f funny then. I was finally able to pull myself up after about 10 minutes on the floor and get to the phone in the living room. I called Jack and told him and he asked if I was ok and did I need him to come home and take me to the ER. I said, no, I didn't think so, but that I just wanted him to know in case I couldn't get around and needed him to come home to be available. When I could manage it, I put my raincoat over my naked body (I couldn't get upstairs to get clothes and had nothing downstairs) and struggled out to the garage and got my walker that I had when I slipped in the restaurant and went to the hospital. I did fall about a month ago, again I slipped on the floor in the kitchen. Jack had gotten ice out of the ice maker and some of it fell on the floor and melted. This time though I was in front of the kitchen cabinets and went straight down on both knees and hands hard. The problem there was, I hit my knees and hands so hard, they were too sore to put weight on. I had to pull myself along to the carpet on my belly like a snake, then use the carpet and soft couch to get myself up. My knees stayed sore for probably a week. I remember setting down on the floor in the kitchen a few days later in the kitchen to connect something under my computer desk, then not being able to get up again because my knees were so bruised. Here went the carpet scenario again! Part of the problem with me falling too, are my floors stay too clean (waxed) and I am flatfooted and walk around in the house barefoot all the time. Unlike people with an arch, my foot is sort of like a suction cup on a surface. If that surface is wet, the foot sticks to the floor with suction then you slip with the other foot. Now, how was that for a totally boring topic to post.

Today I have a list of chores to get done this weekend including pulling the dryer out and checking the vent and vent hose. Since the leak incident, I was doing like 4 loads of towels a day and now my dryer, though heating up fine, takes about 4 cycles to dry and there are little puddles of water outside the door and on the door and not much fuzz in the lint catcher. I think all those towels with all that fuzz probably clogged up the hose a little preventing the air from doing it's job well. We shall see. Jack is not thrilled but I have let him slide on getting up in the attice and putting the stuff away in storage for a month. Haven't nagged or anything but I told him, this weekend we are going to do it because he has to go up there and get our suitcases for the trip anyway so he might as well put all that computer junk up there. You would not believe what he has to go up there. Besides filling up one of those huge rubbermaid storage containers with computer books etc that went out to the garage because it is too heavy to try and put in the attic, he put another smaller one in the attic a few weeks ago, then had 2 monitors, a hard drive, a hard drive case, 2 printers. All of these work, but are old or he bought something to replace them. The one that really makes me mad is this hugely expensive color photo printer I bought for him several years ago for his birthday. He just had to have it so he could make photos from his digital camera. I think I paid like $300 back then and he never learned to use it properly and it has sat in his office closet since then. The man is a computer junkie and he thinks I have a problem with handbags!

Well, hope you have a good weekend. Got to get the day started! Today is treadmill day besides all the other stuff I want to do.

Good Afternoon, Flowers!
I'm taking a break from fixing food and doing laundry to check in with you all. DH left early this morning, with a friend, to go pick up a dock. I'm not sure if they are going to unload it by the lake, take it to the farm, or what, but he isn't home yet.

"Gma" -- I had to chuckle at your descriptions of your different falls. I know it is not funny but yet the mental picture is hilarious! I'm just glad you are able to get up and get going again. Why does Jack save all the old computer stuff? Around here you have to dispose of them through places that sell them and/or the garbage collectors charge you to get rid of the items because they contain some sort of hazardous material. My DH is a thrower and if I'm not on the ball he sometimes will grab something of mine to throw. I'm the saver and I have promised him I will work on my piles this coming week when I am on break. I just always think that maybe someday I might need something; the problem being to find it when I need it.

Whew I am pooped. I did all the upstairs carpets today and my power cleaner kept wanting to act up. It is very tempermental and you have to do all this stuff to get it to work each time you empty and fill again.

Jean: I have NO clue why Jack keeps all that crap. We do have to dispose at a computer disposer place etc. He has kept BOXES from hardware and software for 3 years and I finally put my foot down and told him throw them out or I would! He has computer books that are totally antiquated and good for nothing but he won't get rid of them, just boxed them up! It is infuriating, but that's my honey.

I am down 7 lbs total this week and I am over the moon about it. I have been OP, exercised and water 6 days so that is part of it plus this herbal stuff I am taking to help menopause is really helping too.

It is finally warming up into the upper 60's-70's and though I haven't been outside, it is pretty nice. We are supposed to get some rain though.

Good Afternoon/Evening, Flowers!
I drove to church and back home in sunshine but the have clouds rolled in and the sun went awol. We are supposed to get some rain turning to snow during the night and throughout the day tomorrow. I hope the weatherman misses on this one because I don't want to have to postpone card club. I made caramel corn this afternoon -- the directions said 16 cups of popped corn and then "fill a large grocery paper bag" which 16 cups didn't begin to even be enough. So I filled the bag 3/4 full and made the sauce; I think I shouldn't have had quite so much popcorn although it came out ok. The corn they made at school was totally covered and mine has some white showing. Oh well, if they don't like it, they don't have to eat it!

"Gma" -- Congrats on the GREAT loss for the week! You are on a roll and have the scale going in the right direction for sure! Shampooing carpet is a good job to have done! One nice thing about having the wood floors, we don't have to shampoo carpet any more. Once we get the bedrooms recarpeted, they will be off limits to the cats until bedtime.

I need to go clean up my kitchen. Two days of making cooking messes has about done me in. I always seem to use more dishes than necessary for some reason.

Jean: Carmel corn can be tricky sometimes. I am sure yours is yummy. I like to make toffee, fudge and peanut brittle too, but haven't made any of those except fudge in eons. Toffee is really tough but as long as you have a thermometer it usually goes ok. Peanut brittles problem is the
"drying." If the air is wet like snow or rain, forget it, it will never set up properly and you will have peanut goo.

Jack came to bed last night around 9:45 and I was bopping around with the remote between that shark movie and Crossing Jordan and he sat on the bed and started watching then left. I asked him where he was going and he said to ge this glasses, which is code for, "I'm going to watch the rest of this." It didn't end until 11 PM and I got up at 5 so I am dragging my behind this AM.

I am expecting UPS this morning so I need to stay up. Besides that, yesterday the little monsters next door for about the 10th time threw their balls over the fence onto our deck. Because we have had experience with them coming in and leaving the gate open then I let Fortune out not knowing, we keep the gate locked. Well, I had unlocked it for this delivery today so I wouldn't forget, Fortune was outside at the time, they came trooping in, left the gate wide open only, UH-OH Jack caught them this time and went roaring out telling them not to come in here again. They whined their ball was in our yard and he told them to quit throwing it over and next time it goes in the trash. Now we have to keep it locked. I have decided when we get back from Indiana I am going to buy a wireless doorbell, put it on the gate with instructions to ring if they want in and keep it locked 24/7. I have talked to those kids til I am blue in the face and the parents too and they seem to think other people's property is their own. I found rocks, ciggie butts, and chewed chewing gum yesterday and not only it is on the side of my deck they live on, the condo next door is empty now. I wish they would move, but knowing our luck we would get someone even worse. I am going to write the condo association president, the woman at the management company who is in charge of the property here AND the company that rents to them. I am fed up.

Well, I have weights and an upstairs to clean today so better get to it. Have a nice day everyone.

Good Morning, Flowers!
It's another cloudy day in my corner of the world. . .at least it is not raining nor snowing yet. I'm taking a quick break between cleaning the bathrooms and the kitchen floor. I downloaded Norton last night and the popup says my subscription is running out and I need to renew. I don't have time to mess with it today so that will be my project sometime this week. I think last year I had to dump the old and then download the new.

"Gma" -- I haven't made toffee in years, nor fudge either for that matter. I love divinity but never got the hang of that; I always ended up pouring it into a pan because it wouldn't set up, but it tasted ok. I was thinking it was the kids that moved away or did you have kids on both sides of you? It is aggravating when your neighbors bug you, that's for sure. Our neighborhood is pretty quiet until the family behind us starts to party, which is way too often. It's not so bad in the winter but during the nicer months they tend to come outside to the back yard and their deck. Our yard is much bigger and they have been known to cross the line a time or two when they set up games. The kid has a band now so they practice there too. We can't hear them if the TV is on and they keep their doors shut, which is good.